Best proof of child support internationally?

[Henry&Eliana 3]

Hello, my fiance has a young child from his prior marriage in South Africa. His son lives with the mother in South Africa. My fiance would like to apply for US citizenship based on marriage, 3 years after our marriage date. 

 

There is no court order for child support. They have a mutual agreement contract signed by both, stating how much he pays monthly for child support. 

 

His ex-wife is unwilling to provide a notarized letter confirming his child support, as they are not on speaking terms.

 

What is the best method for sending the child support money to the mother in South Africa during the next three years?  We don't want his citizenship to be denied based on insufficient proof. I've seen people state that bank transfer is not good enough (his current method).

 

The mail is not reliable in South Africa so I wouldn't send checks or money orders.

 

Is paypal payment showing monthly transfers good proof for the IO?

 

Also, does he need to provide 3 or 5 years of evidence, if he is applying based on marriage (3yr rule)?

 

Thanks so much!

[nompish 86]

How about Western Union or Moneygram> keep receipts?

[Spam Hill 10]

Except for the lack of court order, I'm in the same position as your fiancé of supporting a child internationally.

 

When we lived in the UK, it was monthly standing orders to her account and now from the US, I send via PayPal. I have all the bank statements from my old UK bank and I save all PayPal statements. Both types of statements have her name as the recipient so why else would I be sending her money other than to help support my son.

 

There's not much more you can do.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Flying Scotsman

[Scandi 4,244]

3 hours ago, Henry&Eliana said:

Hello, my fiance has a young child from his prior marriage in South Africa. His son lives with the mother in South Africa. My fiance would like to apply for US citizenship based on marriage, 3 years after our marriage date. 

 

Also, does he need to provide 3 or 5 years of evidence, if he is applying based on marriage (3yr rule)?

 

Thanks so much!

He's only your fiance yet, so this can only happen several years into the future. Just to get it right, he can't file for citizenship 3 years after you getting married, he can however file for citizenship 3 years after becoming a legal permanent resident, if still married to you then.

 

The 3 year rule is based on the marriage to a US citizen, meaning they will want to see a lot of proof of that marriage, yes.

[fip & jim 452]

Hi Eliana, 

 

I emigrated from England with my son last year so I wasn't in the exact same position as I had to get a court order to remove my son permanently from the UK.

 

My advice is that your fiance set up a formal agreement with his son's mother. In my opinion it is better to have everything clearly set out and agreed by all parties before leaving the country. From a brief internet search I see that there are similar legal statutes in place in South Africa for child maintenance and provision. I presume your fiance will want to continue to have visitation rights with his child. If he applies for a court order all these issues could be covered within it - visitation, maintenance payments, etc. I don't think an informal agreement is a good idea if your fiance is leaving the country as he will be in a different jurisdiction and any potential problems will be more difficult to resolve, should any arise. 

 

To give you an idea of the process I spent 215 GBP (approximately $265) to file for our court order. In certain circumstances it is a requirement to go to mediation to come to an agreement before the court hearing. I represented myself in court and wrote my own proposal. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing but it was very informal and my son's father had no objections to my proposal and the whole thing was agreed before a judge in ten minutes. 

 

It may seem like an extra hassle and expense but I think it is worth your consideration. It's the responsible thing to do and it also avoids any difficult repercussions in the future. 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by fip & jim

[dilip 187]

8 hours ago, Henry&Eliana said:

Hello, my fiance has a young child from his prior marriage in South Africa. His son lives with the mother in South Africa. My fiance would like to apply for US citizenship based on marriage, 3 years after our marriage date. 

 

There is no court order for child support. They have a mutual agreement contract signed by both, stating how much he pays monthly for child support. 

 

His ex-wife is unwilling to provide a notarized letter confirming his child support, as they are not on speaking terms.

 

What is the best method for sending the child support money to the mother in South Africa during the next three years?  We don't want his citizenship to be denied based on insufficient proof. I've seen people state that bank transfer is not good enough (his current method).

 

The mail is not reliable in South Africa so I wouldn't send checks or money orders.

 

Is paypal payment showing monthly transfers good proof for the IO?

 

Also, does he need to provide 3 or 5 years of evidence, if he is applying based on marriage (3yr rule)?

 

Thanks so much!

Make sure to make some court arrangements and proper documentation and also it is a moral ( you may disagree) obligation that the  money he is going to send every month is going to use to take care of his son.  Also some kind of visitation right in the document is good, since it is also fall into the moral obligation. 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by dilip